Category: European Union

WARSAW, POLAND — Hundreds of Swedish troops arrived in Latvia on Saturday to join a Canadian-led multinational brigade along NATO’s eastern flank, a mission Sweden is calling its most significant operation so far as a member of the Western defense alliance. A ship carrying parts of a mechanized infantry battalion arrived early Saturday in the port of Riga, the Latvian capital, escorted by the Swedish air force and units from the Swedish and Latvian navies, the Swedish armed forces said in a statement. Latvia borders Russia to its east and Russia ally Belarus to its southeast. Tensions are high across Central Europe due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sweden’s armed forces said that the mission of 550 troops will contribute to the alliance’s deterrence and defense efforts and ensure stability in the region, and that it “marks Sweden’s largest commitment yet since joining NATO” last year. Commander Lieutenant Colonel Henrik Rosdahl of the 71st Battalion said he felt great pride in contributing to the alliance’s collective defense. “It’s a historic day, but at the same time, it’s our new normal,” he said. The Swedish troops join one of eight NATO brigades along the alliance’s eastern flank. The battalion is stationed outside the town of Adazi, near Riga. Sweden formally joined NATO in March as the 32nd member of the trans-Atlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality and centuries of broader nonalignment with major powers as security concerns in Europe spiked following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Finland also abandoned its longstanding military neutrality to join NATO in April 2023. …

PRAGUE — “Are you going to ask why I brought you here?” asked Alexey Levchenko as he arrived in Prague’s Smichov neighborhood. It was a brisk October morning, and the editor of the Russian outlet The Insider had suggested the meeting place: a small park with a Baroque fountain featuring the Roman god Neptune held aloft by bears. The neighborhood’s architecture, Levchenko said, reminds him of Russia’s second-biggest city, St. Petersburg.  “It’s difficult to know that I can’t come back to St. Petersburg,” said Levchenko, who often visited the city from his home in Moscow. “It’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and one of my favorites.” Levchenko left Russia in 2021, a few months before the war began in Ukraine. He made his way to Prague, which has a history as a hub for dissident writers. Although the Czech capital was once subject to Soviet rule, it’s different from Russia, Levchenko said. But for a fleeting moment, when he visits the Smichov neighborhood, the similarities can make him feel as if his life hasn’t been upended. Watchdogs estimate about 1,500 journalists fled Russia after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and escalated its repression of dissent and independent media. Some journalists went to Berlin, Riga and Tbilisi. Others, like Levchenko, found refuge in Prague. And while they enjoy a degree of safety to continue reporting, the journalists must also contend with the emotional turmoil that comes with being forced to leave your family and friends, your home and culture, for an unfamiliar place. The journalists also maintain a fractured relationship with their homeland, characterized by nostalgia and homesickness as well as hope and a commitment to the work that forced them into exile in the first place. Some, like Levchenko, look for comfort in their new surroundings. Others turn to the experiences of exiles who came before them. After Alesya Marokhovskaya left Moscow in 2022, she began reading the memoirs of other Russian exiles. The editor-in-chief of the investigative outlet IStories says she found some solace and camaraderie in their writing. She read the works of writers such as Boris Zaitsev, Vladimir Veidle and Marina Tsvetaeva, the latter of whom lived in exile during the 1920s and 1930s, including in Prague. Marokhovskaya hoped their experiences would offer some guidance or wisdom. But what struck her most was that their writing often centered around a deep longing to return … “Far from home, exiled journalists say Russia is always on their minds” →

Ukrainian officials say at least four people were killed early Saturday in a nighttime Russian attack in the capital, Kyiv. Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration said on Telegram that the deaths occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivsky district.  He said the Holosiivsky district on the west bank of the Dnipro River that runs through the city and the Desnyansky district on the opposite bank were hit with falling debris. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defenses were in operation around the city. On Friday, a Russian missile attack killed at least four people and injured at 14 others in the southern-central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address. “Such strikes, such losses, simply would not have happened if we had received all the necessary air defense systems that we have been talking about with our partners for such a long time and that are available in the world,” he said. Earlier Friday, Zelenskyy, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, condemned the attack on Telegram. “Each such terrorist attack is another reminder of who we are dealing with. Russia will not stop on its own — it can only be stopped by joint pressure,” he said. The attack also damaged an educational facility and two five-story buildings, officials said. VOA was unable to independently verify the reports. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack late Friday ignited a fire at an industrial site in Russia’s Kaluga region, about 170 kilometers from the shared border. “As a result of a drone attack in Lyudinovo, a fire broke out on the territory of an industrial enterprise,” regional Governor Vladislav Shapsha posted on Telegram. Agence France-Presse reported that unverified videos on unofficial Russia social media showed what they said was the attack targeting an oil depot. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has previously said he would be able to stop the war in Ukraine in one day, but he has not specified how he would do so. Trump aides recently said the new plan is to end the war within the first 100 days of the administration. Some information in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.  …

During Donald Trump’s first presidential term, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan enjoyed a close relationship with the U.S. leader, benefiting from policies such as the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria. With Trump returning to the White House, Erdogan hopes to revive ties to secure the final U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria and lift the ban on F-35 fighter jet sales. Click here to see the full story in Kurdish. …

RANST, Belgium — Belgium’s once pastoral pastime of pigeon racing has come to this: Drones swoop over lofts where valuable birds are housed to look for security weaknesses, laser sensors set off alarms at night and cameras linked live to mobile apps keep potential thieves at bay — 24/7. That’s what happens when the fast-flying fowl — which in a bygone era were, at best, the toast of local bars — have turned into valuable commodities. The most expensive bird to come out of the top pigeon-racing nation in the world fetched 1.6 million euros ($1.65 million) a few years ago. No wonder the sport is grappling with an unprecedented wave of unsolved pigeon pilfering that has hit several of the best birds in the business. This winter season is “extreme,” Pascal Bodengien, the head of the Belgian Pigeon Racing Federation, told The Associated Press. “Not a week goes by without a theft somewhere.” In one loft, an estimated 100,000 euros ($102,900) worth of pigeons were stolen last week. Overall, no arrests have been made. Prices per bird, said Bodengien, “can vary from 1,000 to 100,000 euros … and that is what they are after.” Exact statistics on losses are often not available because the reporting and police investigations are not centralized. The emotional loss often weighs heaviest of all. The sport involves daily care, over decades, and the rustling of feathers combined with the tranquil cooing often gives breeders a haven of peace in their otherwise bustling lives along with a measure of pride if their birds are winners. Frans Bungeneers is a breeder of champions. He started at age 8 and is still going strong in his 60s. His life got one of its biggest jolts in November 2016 when thieves broke into his garden shed and took away just about all his top pigeons in a heist of some 60 overall. “It was such an incredible blow for me. I can tell you honestly, I cried like a little boy because my life’s work was completely destroyed,” Bungeneers said outside his loft where he had to restart his breeding and racing almost from scratch. “I was — I was broken,” he said. “If you have those successes and those birds are then taken away. You know that it takes years.” He never got his birds back, even though the thieves were caught in Romania and convicted in Belgium. … “Belgium’s pastoral pastime of pigeon racing faces high anxiety over crime wave” →

WASHINGTON — Russia’s Justice Ministry on Friday added more journalists to its list of so-called foreign agents, including reporters for Voice of America, Current Time and the BBC. Six journalists were named to the registry, including Ksenia Turkova, who works for VOA’s Russian language service in Washington, and Iryna Romaliiska, who works for Current Time, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty program in partnership with VOA. Others designated by Russia include Anastasia Lotareva and Andrey Kozenko, who work for BBC Russian; Alexandra Prokopenko, a journalist and research fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin; and Anton Rubin, a journalist at exiled media outlet Ekho Moskvy, who is also the director of a nongovernmental organization that helps orphans. Authorities use law to target critics Russia’s foreign agent law came into effect in 2012. Since then, say watchdogs, it has been used by authorities to target groups and individuals who are critical of the Kremlin. Hundreds of media outlets, journalists and civil society groups have been listed by the Justice Ministry. Those named as foreign agents have to mark any online content, even personal social media posts, as having come from a foreign agent, and to share financial details. Failure to comply can lead to fines or even imprisonment. Both VOA and its sister network RFE/RL have been designated as so-called foreign agents. Turkova is the first VOA journalist to be named individually. In a statement, VOA director Mike Abramowitz said that VOA and its journalists, by law, provide “a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news around the world.” “We stand with our journalists who often face repercussions for providing this vital public service and we remain committed to ensuring that audiences can access the vital content that VOA provides,” he said. Turkova told VOA that she considers the designation by Russia a “meaningless label.” “For the authorities, it’s a synonym for ‘traitor,’ ‘enemy of the people,’ ” she said. “For those whom the Russian authorities are targeting, it’s, in general, an empty sound, a word that means absolutely nothing.” Previously, Turkova worked in Ukraine, where she reported on Russia’s occupation of Crimea, the war in Donbas and repressive actions by Moscow. Since moving to Washington, Turkova said, “I continued to write and speak about the topics that I consider very important. First of all, it’s the war in Ukraine. It’s repression in Russia and it’s the role of propaganda.” Current … “Russia adds VOA, Current Time, BBC journalists to register of ‘foreign agents’” →

WASHINGTON — An Azerbaijani court on Friday denied petitions by two jailed journalists to be released from house arrest, their lawyers said. The journalists, Aynur Elgunesh and Natig Javadli, work for Meydan TV, an independent outlet based in Germany. They were among six journalists arrested in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, in early December. Azerbaijan is among the worst jailers of journalists in the world, with more than a dozen behind bars, according to a report released this week by the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ. Azerbaijan is currently detaining at least 18 journalists for their work, according to CPJ. The group’s latest prison census, which acts as a snapshot of media workers in custody as of Dec. 1, listed 13 journalists in the Azerbaijani prison. One of those was released after the census was taken, but authorities then jailed six more journalists, including Elgunesh and Javadli. The arrests are a concern for local activists and reporters. “Independent and critical media in Azerbaijan is going through its most difficult period,” Azerbaijani activist Samir Kazimli told VOA. “If this policy of repression does not stop, if it continues, independent media in Azerbaijan may completely collapse.” The annual CPJ report found 361 journalists behind bars around the world. Azerbaijan ranked eighth worst in the census, behind countries such as China, Israel, Myanmar, Belarus and Russia. “Azerbaijan has been cracking down on independent media for well over a decade,” CPJ’s CEO, Jodie Ginsberg, told VOA. “It doesn’t often get the attention that it deserves.” Local journalists like Shamshad Agha are worried that Azerbaijani authorities are trying to stamp out independent media. Agha is editor of Argument.az, a news website covering democracy, corruption and human rights. “The lives of all independent journalists are in danger,” he told VOA. Agha said he has been banned from leaving the country since July 2024. Azerbaijan’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment. Many of the journalists jailed in Azerbaijan are accused of foreign currency smuggling, which media watchdogs have rejected as a sham charge. Many of those currently detained work for the independent outlets Abzas Media and Meydan TV. Farid Mehralizada, an economist and journalist with the Azerbaijani Service of VOA’s sister outlet, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, is among those currently imprisoned. Jailed since May, Mehralizada is facing charges of conspiring to smuggle foreign currency, as well as “illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion … “Journalists in Azerbaijan face trials, jailings, travel bans” →

WARSAW, POLAND — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday condemned what he called “the poison of antisemitism rising around the world” after a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former German Nazi concentration camp. His visit came as many international delegations are expected to attend the Jan. 27 ceremony commemorating 80 years since the Soviet Red Army liberated the death camp built in occupied Poland. King Charles III will be among those attending the ceremony, Buckingham Palace said Monday, in his first visit to the former camp. “Time and again we condemn this hatred, and we boldly say, ‘never again,’” Starmer said in a statement following his visit. “But where is never again, when we see the poison of antisemitism rising around the world” in the aftermath of October 7th, he said. The Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas staged the deadliest attack in Israeli history. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has left 46,876 people dead, the majority civilians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, figures the United Nations has described as reliable. Last week, the Polish government said it would grant free access to Israeli officials wanting to attend the commemoration, despite a warrant issued in November by the International Criminal Court for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had information from the Israeli Embassy that the country would be represented by its education minister. The International Criminal Court issued the warrant in November over the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, prompting outrage from Israel and its allies. Auschwitz has become a symbol of Nazi Germany’s genocide of 6 million European Jews, 1 million of whom died at the site between 1940 and 1945, along with more than 100,000 non-Jews. …

For nearly three years, a combat medic from California named Jennifer Mullee has been saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers on the frontlines. Mullee decided to join the Ukrainian war effort following the death of a close friend. Anna Kosstutschenko has her story. Camera: Pavel Suhodolskiy   …

MOSCOW — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Moscow on Friday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the signing of a strategic partnership treaty involving closer defense cooperation that is likely to worry the West. Pezeshkian, on his first Kremlin visit since winning the presidency last July, will hold talks with Putin focusing on bilateral ties and international issues before signing the treaty. Ahead of the talks, the Kremlin hailed its ever closer ties with Tehran. “Iran is an important partner for us with which we are developing multifaceted co-operation,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Moscow has cultivated closer ties with Iran and other countries hostile towards the U.S., such as North Korea, since the start of the Ukraine war, and already has strategic pacts with Pyongyang and close ally Belarus, as well as a strategic partnership agreement with China. The 20-year Russia-Iran agreement is not expected to include a mutual defense clause of the kind sealed with Minsk and Pyongyang, but is still likely to concern the West which sees both countries as malign influences on the world stage. Moscow and Tehran say their increasingly close ties are not directed against other countries. Russia has made extensive use of Iranian drones during the war in Ukraine and the United States accused Tehran in September of delivering close-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine. Tehran denies supplying drones or missiles. The Kremlin has declined to confirm it has received Iranian missiles, but has acknowledged that its cooperation with Iran includes “the most sensitive areas.” Pezeshkian visit to Moscow also comes at a time when Iranian influence across the Middle East is in retreat after Islamist rebels seized power in Syria, expelling ally Bashar al-Assad, and after Iran-backed Hamas has been pounded by Israel in Gaza. Israel has also inflicted serious damage on the Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Russia too finds itself on the backfoot in Syria where it maintains two major military facilities crucial to its geopolitical and military influence in the Middle East and Africa but whose fate under Syria’s new rulers is now uncertain. Putin met Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan in October and at a cultural forum in Turkmenistan the same month. Pezeshkian, who is holding talks with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin before meeting Putin, is accompanied to Moscow by his oil minister, … “Iranian president in Moscow for treaty signing with Putin” →

MOSCOW — A Russian court on Friday upheld the jail term of Robert Shonov, a former U.S. Consulate worker sentenced to almost five years for “secret collaboration with a foreign state.” Shonov, a Russian citizen, worked for more than 25 years at the U.S. Consulate in the far eastern city of Vladivostok until 2021, when Moscow imposed restrictions on local staff working for foreign missions. He was arrested in 2023 on suspicion of passing secret information about Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine to the United States in exchange for money and sentenced to four years and 10 months prison in November 2024. “The judicial act was upheld,” a court in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk ruled, according to its website, rejecting an appeal Shonov had made against his sentencing. The United States strongly condemned the conviction last year, calling it an “egregious injustice” based on “meritless allegations.” In September 2023, Russia expelled two U.S. diplomats it accused of acting as liaison agents for Shonov. In recent years, several U.S. citizens have been arrested and sentenced to long jail terms in Russia. Others are being held pending trial. Washington, which supports Ukraine militarily and financially against Russia’s military offensive, accuses Moscow of arresting Americans on baseless charges to use as bargaining chips in prisoner exchanges. Even after a landmark prisoner swap in August, several U.S. nationals and dual nationals remain in detention in Russia. …

PETUSHKI, RUSSIA — Russia on Friday sentenced three lawyers who had defended Alexey Navalny to several years in prison for bringing messages from the late opposition leader from prison to the outside world. The sentences come as Russia — in the midst of a massive crackdown during its Ukraine offensive — seeks to punish Navalny’s associates since his unexplained death in an Arctic prison colony last February. Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin — who were arrested in October 2023 — were found guilty of participating in an “extremist organization,” a court in the Russian town of Petushki ruled. Kobzev, the most high-profile member of Navalny’s legal team, was given 5.5 years, while Liptser was handed five years and Sergunin 3.5 years. While serving his 19-year sentence, Navalny communicated with the world by transmitting messages through his lawyers which his team then published on social media. Authorities had moved him to a harsher prison regime that limited outside contact, before sending him to a remote colony above the Arctic Circle where he died. “We are on trial for passing Navalny’s thoughts to other people,” Kobzev said in court last week. The court said the men had “used their status as lawyers while visiting convict Navalny … to ensure the regular transfer of information between the members of the extremist community, including those wanted and hiding outside the Russian Federation, and Navalny.” ‘Outrageous’ It said this allowed Navalny to continue “planning the preparation and creating conditions for committing crimes with an extremist character.” Navalny had condemned the arrests of the lawyers as “outrageous” and part of a campaign to further isolate him in jail. The court proceedings, which opened in September in Petushki, a town about 115 kilometers east of Moscow, have been held behind closed doors. The verdicts come several days before four independent journalists accused of helping Navalny will be back in court, facing up to six years in prison. In his messages to the outside world, Navalny denounced the Kremlin’s Ukraine offensive as “criminal” and told supporters “not to give up.” The texts from prison were also full of tongue-in-cheek dispatches of daily life behind bars. In his speech last week, Kobzev compared Moscow’s current crackdown on dissent to Stalin-era mass repression. “Eight years have passed… and in the Petushki court, people are once again on trial for discrediting officials and the state agencies,” he said, in a … “Russia sentences Navalny lawyers to years behind bars” →

Sasha Selipanov, a well-known car designer, was born in the Soviet Union but at 17 moved to the U.S. In California, he mastered the skill of designing high-end cars, creating vehicles for Lamborghini and Bugatti among others. He showed VOA Russian the concept of his first hypercar, which he is building in Los Angeles. Click here for the full story in Russian.  …

As the U.S. and Armenia signed a strategic partnership agreement in Washington this week, experts say the Kremlin is slowly losing one of its few remaining allies. While Moscow says that Armenia’s distancing itself from Russia will bear consequences, the Armenian government is trying to steadily chart a pro-Western path.  Click here for the full story in Russian.    …

Britain and Ukraine signed a 100-year agreement Thursday, with Britain pledging to provide Ukraine with $3.6 billion in military aid this year. The deal was announced during a joint news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, at the presidential palace where British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Starmer is on his first trip to Ukraine since he took office. Starmer called the agreement historic and said the new partnership “reflects the huge affection that exists between our two nations.” The partnership will include cooperation in the areas of culture, education, science and technology. Regarding military assistance for Kyiv’s war against Russia, Starmer said Britain plans to provide Ukraine with a loan of more than $2.6 billion. He said the loan “will be paid back not by Ukraine, but from the interest on frozen Russian assets.” Starmer also announced that Britain was providing Ukraine with 150 artillery gun barrels and a new mobile air defense system. In his comments, Starmer credited Ukraine’s allies, particularly the United States, for contributing to the success Ukraine has had against “aggression from Russia.” He said he wanted to pay tribute to the U.S. for “the work that the U.S. has done here, the support that they have put in, because it’s been a vital component of what has been quite an incredible achievement by Ukraine.” The comments came just days before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, a critic of U.S. support for Ukraine, takes office and a day after the new president’s pick to be the U.S. secretary of state, Republican Senator Marco Rubio, told a Senate panel the war must end. Speaking at his confirmation hearing, Rubio called the conflict a “war of attrition” and a “stalemate” that must be ended. He said the first step should be a ceasefire that halts ground fighting, which has for more than a year mostly occurred in eastern Ukraine. Rubio called the destruction in Ukraine “extraordinary,” saying it will “take a generation to rebuild.” “The truth of the matter is that in this conflict, there is no way Russia takes all of Ukraine,” Rubio said. “It’s also unrealistic to believe that somehow, a nation the size of Ukraine … is also going to push these people all the way back to where they were on the eve of the invasion.” Even as he argued for a negotiated settlement to end the fighting that started with Russia’s … “Britain, Ukraine sign 100-year agreement” →

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, analysts say Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sees an opportunity to rekindle what he calls his close working relationship with the president-elect. However, as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, the incoming Trump presidency poses risks as well as opportunities. …

As Russia’s war with Ukraine approaches the three-year mark in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is emphasizing his country’s hope for continued U.S. support under the incoming Trump administration.  “We are waiting for the inauguration of the U.S. president. I think the whole world is waiting because the United States is a strategic partner in global stability,” Zelenskyy said this week during a joint press conference in Warsaw with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.  Zelenskyy described the U.S. as “the largest donor supporting Ukraine in its war for survival against Russian aggression” and expressed optimism for deepened cooperation under the principle of “peace through strength.”   He also said his administration is already coordinating with Washington regarding possible meetings with President-elect Donald Trump, who assumes office on Monday.  “Our teams are working on the details of this crucial discussion. We want to end this war, but on the terms of a just peace,” he said.   The key focus for Ukraine in future peace negotiations will be securing robust and comprehensive security guarantees to prevent any future Russian aggression.  Trump has voiced skepticism of continued U.S. military support for Kyiv, repeatedly vowing that he would end the war before assuming the presidency on Jan. 20. In recent days, however, his aides have said the new timeline for ending the war is in the first 100 days of his administration, which would be by the end of April.  Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday: “Even if the conflict ends, Ukraine must have the ability to defend itself.” He added that this is a matter of long-term security and stability for Ukraine.  Tusk, standing alongside Zelenskyy in Warsaw, said Ukraine’s best security guarantee would be membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions. But, he pointed out, the thought of Ukraine joining NATO remains “controversial among some states,” making it vital for the Western alliance to provide Ukraine with a tangible solution to secure peace in Europe.  Ukrainian military troop strength  Ukraine cannot engage in “games” by reducing the size of its military, Zelenskyy also said, rejecting any proposals to do so.  He said a strong defense force is “the only security guarantee” ahead of potential peace negotiations with Russia. His remarks referred to Bloomberg News reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to push for Ukraine to sever ties with NATO and adopt a “neutral state” status … “Ukraine’s Zelenskyy seeking continued US support under Trump” →

ROME — Pope Francis fell Thursday and hurt his right arm, the Vatican said, just weeks after another apparent fall resulted in a bad bruise on his chin.  Francis didn’t break his arm, but a sling was put on as a precaution, the Vatican spokesman said in a statement  On Dec. 7, the pope whacked his chin on his nightstand in an apparent fall that resulted in a bad bruise.  The 88-year-old pope, who has battled health problems including long bouts of bronchitis, often must use a wheelchair because of bad knees. He uses a walker or cane when moving around his apartment in the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel.  The Vatican said that Thursday’s fall also occurred at Santa Marta, and the pope was later seen in audiences with his right arm in a sling. At one of the meetings, Francis apologetically offered his left hand for a handshake when he greeted the head of the U.N. fund for agricultural development, Alvaro Lario.  “This morning, due to a fall at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis suffered a contusion to his right forearm, without fracture. The arm was immobilized as a precautionary measure,” the statement said.  Speculation about Francis’ health is a constant in Vatican circles, especially after Pope Benedict XVI broke 600 years of tradition and resigned from the papacy in 2013.  Benedict’s aides have attributed the decision to a nighttime fall that he suffered during a 2012 trip to Mexico, after which he determined he couldn’t keep up with the globe-trotting demands of the papacy.  Francis has said that he has no plans to resign anytime soon, even if Benedict “opened the door” to the possibility. In his autobiography Hope released this week, Francis said that he hadn’t considered resigning even when he had major intestinal surgery. …

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — China initiated a new round of diplomatic outreach to Japan and the European Union this week as Washington prepares for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. A delegation of Japanese lawmakers traveled to Beijing and a Chinese military delegation went to Japan for the first time in five years. Meanwhile, the European Council’s new president held his first phone call with China’s leader, Xi Jinping. Analysts say China is trying to test the alliance between Washington and its allies through the diplomatic efforts. “Senior Chinese officials believe the incoming Trump administration will be more hawkish toward China, so Beijing needs to try to take U.S. allies out of Washington’s orbit,” Chen Yuhua, a China studies professor at Akita International University, told VOA in a video interview. Other experts, however, say the effectiveness of Beijing’s strategy remains unclear. While China is “improving relations with everyone, they are not willing to fundamentally change their external behavior. We don’t know how long [this trend] will last,” said Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at Tokyo’s International Christian University. Seafood and soldiers On Monday, lawmakers from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, and its coalition partner Komeito began a three-day visit to China. During the trip, Japanese lawmakers met with top Chinese leaders, including Premier Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The Japanese side urged China to lift import bans on Japanese seafood “at an early date” and ensure the safety of Japanese nationals living in China. Hiroshi Moriyama, the secretary general of the LDP, said during his keynote speech on Tuesday that China and Japan “need to boost mutual understanding between their peoples and strengthen dialogue at various levels to improve their ties.” Moriyama also reiterated Tokyo’s concern about rising tensions in the East China Sea and Beijing’s detention of several Japanese nationals under espionage charges. During his meeting with the Japanese delegation Tuesday, Wang said Japan and China “face important opportunities” to improve and develop bilateral relations. On Wednesday, Li said Beijing and Tokyo should focus on exploring economic cooperation in areas such as the digital economy and green development, while increasing people-to-people exchanges at the sub-national level. At the same time lawmakers were visiting Beijing, a Chinese military delegation started a five-day visit to Japan. During the trip, the Chinese delegation was expected to meet their Japanese counterparts and visit some military units, according to a … “China reaches out to US allies ahead of Trump’s inauguration” →

Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have died fighting since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, and some of them have been women. Tetiana Kukurika met with two families who lost loved ones in the war. Anna Rice narrates her story. VOA footage by Sergiy Rybchynski. Video editing by Vitaliy Hrychanyuk and Anna Rice.  …

Britain announced Thursday a treaty with Ukraine that includes military collaboration, science and technology partnerships, and an effort to track stolen Ukrainian grain. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is visiting Kyiv to sign the pact with Ukrainian leaders. Starmer is also announcing a new round of lethal military aid for Ukrainian forces, his office said. “This is not just about the here and now, it is also about an investment in our two countries for the next century, bringing together technology development, scientific advances and cultural exchanges, and harnessing the phenomenal innovation shown by Ukraine in recent years for generations to come,” Starmer said in a statement. Starmer said Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed to “wrench Ukraine away from its closest partners,” and instead has left Ukraine and its allies “closer than ever.” The agreement includes cooperation on maritime security in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to deter Russian aggression, Starmer’s office said. Outside of military collaboration, the two countries will work together on agricultural technology, healthcare and space issues. Aerial attacks Ukraine’s military said Thursday that Russian drone attacks caused damage at a farm in the Chernihiv region, while debris from drones destroyed by Ukrainian air defenses damaged houses in Kharkiv and Poltava. Chernihiv Governor Vyacheslav Chaus said on Telegram the farm damage included a hangar used to store corn, and that there were no casualties from the attack. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram his region was targeted by Russian drones, missiles and heavy artillery, killing one person, injuring another and damaging about three dozen homes. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 34 of the 55 total drones Russia launched overnight, Ukraine’s air force said. Intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Zhytomyr regions. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday its air defenses destroyed 27 Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod, Voronezh, Tambov and Kursk regions. Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev said on Telegram that a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil depot, but no casualties. Some information for this story came from Reuters. …

In California, qualifying inmates volunteer as firefighters to assist in combating wildfires in Los Angeles. China uses forced labor involving arbitrarily detained Muslims in Xinjiang. …

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus on Thursday hailed a U.S. memorandum allowing military sales, including arms, to the island as a milestone affirming recognition of the island as a pillar of stability in the east Mediterranean region which has been fraught with conflict. U.S. President Joe Biden boosted security ties with Cyprus on Wednesday by issuing a memorandum that makes the island eligible to receive American defense articles, military sales and training. Cyprus has over the years played a key role in evacuating people out of conflict zones and established a maritime corridor for aid to war-ravaged Gaza last year. “This (memorandum) is a clear recognition of the Republic of Cyprus as a pillar of stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean, with the potential to further contribute to peace and the management of humanitarian challenges,” the Cypriot presidency said in a statement. The foreign ministry of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot administration in northern Cyprus said the U.S. decision showed Cyprus’ internationally recognized Greek government would “continue its arms race as if it were preparing for war.” “We call on the countries that support the warmongering of the Greek Cypriot side to act by calculating the consequences of these actions and to be sensible,” the statement said, adding it would keep taking steps with Turkey to protect the security of its citizens. Cyprus was close to Russia for decades, but there has been a marked shift in allegiances in recent years. Many in Cyprus have drawn parallels between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and EU-member Cyprus has followed its peers in adopting sanctions on Moscow. It is now getting FBI expertise in countering illicit finance. The U.S. embassy in Nicosia said access to U.S. programs would enable greater interoperability to respond to regional humanitarian crises, counter malign influence, and combat terrorism and transnational organized crime. The deepening in ties between the U.S. and Cyprus has been closely followed by Turkey, which in September criticized the pair’s signing of a roadmap to boost defense co-operation. The 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus followed a brief Greek-inspired coup after years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots that had led to the collapse of a power-sharing administration in 1963. …

Ukrainians formerly imprisoned by Russia testified at the United Nations this week about the torture they were subjected to in captivity. Ukrainian journalist and activist Maxym Butkevych, who spent more than two years in a Russian prison in an occupied Ukrainian town, described how he was deprived of fresh air and sunlight, subjected to beatings and electric shocks, denied medical assistance and forced to appear in recorded videos under duress. Click here for the full story in Russian. …

Washington — The U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday that it is expanding the web of sanctions on companies and institutions supporting Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine, re-designating about 100 entities for sanctions and placing sanctions on 15 new entities. A senior Treasury Department official said that under the sanctions, any company that does meaningful business with parts of Russia’s military industrial complex also would face the risk of penalties. The official insisted on anonymity to preview the announcement on a call with reporters. The official said that removal of the sanctions would require congressional notification. That step could potentially make it harder for the incoming Republican Trump administration to adjust and change sanctions without drawing public scrutiny. The official stressed that there are new sanctions on 15 companies related to Russia and China that have worked together to avoid existing sanctions. Treasury is sanctioning the following Russian companies as being involved in this scheme: Herbarium Office Management, Atlant Torg, Sigma Partners, Tranzaktsii I Raschety, Arctur and Paylink Limited. It’s also sanctioning Russian national Andrei Prikhodko, the general director of Herbarium. Additionally, there are sanctions on China-based companies: Anhui Hongsheng International Trade, Qingyuan Fo Feng Leda Supply Chain Service, Heilongjiang Shunsheng Economic and Trade Development, Qingdao Hezhi Business Service, Xinjiang Financial Import and Export, Hangzhou Xianghe Trading, Shaanxi Hongrun Jinhua Trading, Fujian Xinfuwang International Trade, and Jilin Province Shunda Trading Company. Separately, the Keremet Bank in Kyrgyzstan is being sanctioned for coordinating with Russian officials and a U.S. bank to evade sanctions. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, an assault that led to aggressive sanctioning by the U.S. and its allies and efforts by Russia and its partners to get around the financial restrictions. The Democratic Biden administration sees recent changes in the global oil market as making it easier to crack down on Russia’s oil revenues without hurting global supplies. The Treasury Department announced last week that it was expanding sanctions against the Russian energy sector for its nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine. …

The French government won praise last month for making good on its promise to rebuild the fire-hit Notre Dame cathedral in just five years. But authorities are facing a rockier time when it comes to rebuilding cyclone-hit Mayotte — France’s impoverished overseas territory off the coast of East Africa. Lawmakers this week began fractious hearings about how to speed up reconstruction of Mayotte, where Cyclone Chido last month killed dozens, injured thousands and flattened thousands of buildings, especially in shantytowns. On Sunday, another tropical storm triggered flooding in the archipelago, underscoring the fallout of extreme weather events that are becoming more intense and frequent with climate change. French Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville announced that there were only a few injuries and no deaths from the latest storm and that it was time to get back to work. Visiting days after Cyclone Chido, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to swiftly rebuild Mayotte. But reconstructing Mayotte has dug up a raft of grievances and triggered hot political debate. The overseas territory — with an official population of about 320,000 — is the poorest and most underdeveloped department of France. Macron and his centrist government are accused of being too slow in delivering aid and water and restoring power after Cyclone Chido. Many of Mayotte’s residents are not French citizens, but rather undocumented immigrants, many from nearby Comoros. Top French ministers are now talking about cracking down on illegal immigration. So is far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose National Rally party is the most popular in France. During a visit to the territory earlier this month, Le Pen got an enthusiastic welcome from many Mayotte citizens — who largely voted for her during 2022 presidential elections. She blames the government for poor public services like education — and for undercounting the number of migrants there illegally. …